CoStar Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP), a provider of online real estate marketplaces, information and analytics, has completed its acquisition of OnTheMarket, a residential property portal in the U.K., for approximately $125 million.
OnTheMarket was founded in 2013 and currently has over 13,000 agent advertisers. CoStar Group plans to integrate OnTheMarket into its network of real estate marketplaces and anticipates investing approximately $58 million into sales and marketing in the first year following the transaction.
“Today’s announcement gives us the opportunity to combine a leading U.K. agent-friendly site with our technology, expertise, and capital to raise the game for online home shopping in the U.K,” said Andy Florance, founder and CEO of CoStar Group. “The current market leader has grown complacent focusing on margin over innovation, and pricing ahead of value. The level of shareholder support we received is a major endorsement of our plans to invest in OnTheMarket.”
Jason Tebb, CEO of OnTheMarket, added, “We are very excited to be joining CoStar Group, in a move which will see our business gain the backing of a proven product and technology market leader. We look forward to working together to accelerate our strategy, with the clear goal of becoming the market leader. To do so with a partner who shares our commitment to a fair and sustainable pricing model constitutes a huge step forward for our company.”
